ACAT Meeting - February 23, 2012

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Agenda is not available for this meeting.
Please check the meeting minutes for meeting details.

Before the start of the meeting, it was noted that Rogers TV was filming part of the meeting and it was requested that if anyone had an issue being on film that they made that known to the Chair. No issues were raised.

Valdo Tammark, Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m. and attendance was taken.

Nil.

The addition of a Commission Meeting Report was added to the agenda.

On Motion by Dorothy Creaser and Seconded by Mazin Aribi, ACAT reviewed and approved the Agenda with Amendments.

One edit was noted for the minutes. On page 6 where it was written that members were requested to share anything that came to mind with the ACAT group. The comment was corrected to say that members will speak with the Chair instead. 

On Motion by Angela Marley and Seconded by Dorothy Creaser, ACAT reviewed and approved the Agenda with amendments.

Design Review Subcommittee (DRS)

Dorothy Creaser, Chair, provided an update for the Design Review Subcommittee (DRS).

The members of the 2012 ACAT DRS were welcomed and introduced on February 15, 2012, the first meeting of the 2012 Subcommittee and the only meeting this month.

Dorothy Creaser was elected as Chair of the 2012 ACAT Design Review Subcommittee.

The primary items addressed were:

Design Standards & Accessible Built Environment
Susan Reed Tanaka from the Engineering, Construction and Expansion Branch provided an update to the Subcommittee on the Design Standards and the Accessible Built Environment Final Proposed Standard. Anna Pace from the Transit Expansion Department was also present and will be coming back to the Subcommittee to present information on the expansion projects.

The planned actions include:

• Continue work with other Transit Agencies in Ontario; Define best practices for Transportation Elements,
• Seek ACAT commitment to review proposed transit elements.

Potential Tasks and Priorities for 2012
The DRS members reviewed the outstanding and ongoing priorities that the Subcommittee will be considering in 2012. The Subcommittee will report further on these items as progress is made on addressing the achievement of the Subcommittee’s objectives.

Annual Accessibility Report and Plan
Bill Dawson provided an update to the Subcommittee regarding this report. The draft report would be going to the February 29th Commission meeting. This is a status report and is updated from the year before and includes a summary from the 2011 Public Forum results. It notes issues about AODA standards and built environment standards including concerns that the regulations could have an impact from a cost perspective for the TTC. The report will be distributed to all members of ACAT once it is available to the Commission.

Further detail will be provided in the approved minutes anticipated to be available in March.

In response to questions, it was clarified by Glenn Johnston that the annual report will be distributed to ACAT members when it goes to the Commission and, once approved by the Subcommittees, the minutes from the Subcommittee meetings where the report and plan were discussed will also be distributed.

Service Planning Subcommittee (SPS)

Anna Noviss, Chair, provided an update for the Service Planning Subcommittee (SPS).

There was one meeting of the ACAT SPS in February. All members present were welcomed and introduced as the 2012 SPS Subcommittee.

Anna Noviss was elected as Chair of the 2012 ACAT SPS.

The draft minutes for January 25, 2012 were approved.

The three outstanding items identified by the outgoing 2011 Subcommittee members and the four major priorities for 2012 and beyond were discussed. The lists will be updated as outstanding items are addressed and as progress is made on the priorities.

The Subcommittee was reminded that the 2012 Public Form on TTC accessible transit services is planned for May 10, 2012 and the members were asked again to attend.

As requested, Glenn Johnston had sent the draft Public Forum report produced by the ACAT SPS to both Chris Upfold, Chief Customer Service Officer, and Mazin Aribi, the ACAT representative on the Customer Service Panel. The summaries of the public’s comments and the insights of the ACAT members can be considered during the processes to improve customer service at the TTC.

The Annual Accessibility Report and Plan to the Toronto Transit Commission was briefly discussed. The report outlines accessibility initiatives that have been before ACAT in the past and includes the ACAT Service Planning Subcommittee summary of comments from the 2011 Public Forum.

Staff will send guidelines such as accessibility legislation regulations, codes, guildelines, etc. to the Subcommittee when required.

In answer to a question from a member, Glenn Johnston said he will check with the office responsible for updating the website on having both the accessibility plan on the website after it is approved by the Commission and the date of the 2012 Public Forum.

Other Subcommittees

As the other Subcommittees have not met in 2012, there were no reports provided.

A suggestion was made that the Communications Subcommittee should meet soon, and when they do, one item for their attention would be to ensure that all items on the website are up to date, including the date for the Public Forum. The current date on the website is from 2011.

It was noted by Penny Lamy that the remaining two subcommittees, the Communications Subcommittee and Wheel-Trans Operations Subcommittee, will be meeting in March.

Valdo Tammark reported on the January 31, 2012 Commission Meeting. There had been disagreement within the Commission as to how to spend the extra $5 M given to them by the City. Some wanted the money to go into the conventional bus routes and others wanted it to go to Wheel-Trans to help with the dialysis patients. In the end, it was decided that the money would go to Wheel-Trans to cover dialysis customers until the end of the year.  It would also be used to sign up new patients to be taken to the hospital. With this financial influx, the unaccommodated statistics remains down at 2%. 

Bill Frost elaborated that, at previous Commission meetings, the Commission had decided to extend Wheel-Trans service to dialysis customers to June 2012.  In order to accommodate the unbudgeted service, the unaccommodated rate may increase to 4% for all customers. This $5M allotted to Wheel-Trans to provide service to dialysis customers for the remainder of the year allows Wheel-Trans to keep the unaccommodated rate at the budgeted level of 2%.

Valdo also reported on the February 21, 2012 Special Commission Meeting where Gary Webster was removed from his position without just cause. He was temporarily replaced by Andy Byford. Andy Byford is aware of ACAT and its role and believes it is an important entity. What the status of ACAT will be, once they formally fill Gary’s position, is unknown. 

An ACAT member requested that Valdo Tammark, as Chair and on behalf of ACAT, send Gary a “wish you well” recognition also expressing thanks for building up the assessment of transportation issues. It was decided that it would be done on official letterhead.

Action: Valdo will draft a letter on ACAT letterhead to be sent to Gary Webster thanking him for all he has done for ACAT and accessibility issues and wishing him the best for the future.

Debbie Gillespie informed the ACAT members that she was evaluating a product called Step Here. This is a small gadget that you carry with you and, as you approach something like a bus stop at a bus bay, it will tell which bus it is. Debbie may ask to have her update on this item on the agenda at the next ACAT meeting and will keep ACAT informed as evaluations progress.

An ACAT member noted that they had been speaking with a Station Manager from Osgoode Station. There was a request that, to help visually impaired people, an update should be placed on the website regarding stations that have maintenance going on where signage or other barriers may be in their path.  Perhaps this is an item that the SPS or DRS can address.

ACAT members received two handouts - the “New Rider Guide for Fall 2011” and the “Welcome to Wheel-Trans Guide”. These booklets are on the website but are not downloadable. They are in the same format as all documents on the TTC sites.

Following a request from an ACAT member to have a list of timelines for those stations that will become accessible, it was noted that the information is already within the annual accessibility plan on the TTC website. The updated Accessibility Plan, to be posted after approval of the Commission, will again note the stations which are accessible as well as those to be addressed within the 5-year Capital Plan.

Clarification was provided for some ACAT members that there is notice on the website and that anyone can also call the Lift Line, 416-539-LIFT (5438) to find out which elevators are down. However, this does not apply with escalators that may be down for such short periods as a couple of hours. The TTC website also lists longer periods of construction work that remove elevators and escalators from operation for longer periods. It was noted that the lift at Union Station has been replaced with a staircase.   

Clarification was provided for ACAT members regarding the Lost and Found Policy at Wheel-Trans. If an item is found, it is turned in and stored, documented, and retained for 7 to 10 days. After that period, it is shipped to Bay Street and a person would have to go there for their item. 

Bill Frost informed the members that, in response to concerns brought forward at the 2011 TTC Public Forum regarding the use of the video recordings from onboard cameras to determine whether customers still meet the eligibility requirements for Wheel-Trans service, the signs posted in the Wheel-Trans buses now reflect that purpose. The mobility of customers who qualified for  service in the past may no longer meet eligibility requirements.

The Committee was also informed that TTC Chair Karen Stintz participated on the TV show, “Undercover Boss”, sometime last May.  As a result, you can clearly see she is on the side of the TTC.;

The next meeting of ACAT will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2012, in the 7th Floor Boardroom, 1900 Yonge Street.

On Motion by Brayan Bratanov and Seconded by Anna Noviss, the meeting was adjourned at 1:54 pm.